Legislators push plan to remove ban on sewage seeping into ocean by 2025

A bill making its way through the Florida Legislature would allow the dumping of 5 billion gallons of treated sewage into the ocean every year, but save South Florida’s utility ratepayers at least $1.3 billion.

The bill would change a 2008 law that told utilities to completely stop flushing treated sewage into the ocean by 2025 to save coral reefs and marine ecosystems. A 2008 study by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection stated that “the weight of the evidence” showed the sewage was harming South Florida’s coastal marine life.

The new measure would allow utilities to pump a reduced amount of sewage into the ocean annually after the 2025 deadline: 5 percent of their annual sewage flow, which would total an estimated 5 billion-plus gallons a year. Right now, utilities pump about 71 billion gallons of treated sewage into the ocean a year.

All the sewage outflows affected by the bill, which is being considered by the Senate Budget Committee and has passed the House unanimously, are in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. If the bill passes the committee, it will go to the full Senate for a vote. Story here.